1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for delivering information, and in particular to a system and method for delivering e-commerce and pay-TV programming purchase information from a set top box to a pay-TV service provider across the Internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Television programs are distributed to viewers by a variety of broadcasting methods. These methods include traditional analog broadcast television (National Television Systems Committee or “NTSC” standard), the digital broadcast television (Advanced Television Systems Committee or “ATSC” standard), cable television (both analog and digital), satellite broadcasting (both analog and digital), as well as other methods. These methods allow channels of television content to be multiplexed and transmitted over a common transmission medium.
To view a television program, a customer may have to subscribe to a service package offered by a pay-TV service/transmission provider (also referred to as a direct broadcast satellite (DBS) operator) such as a satellite transmitter (e.g., DIRECTV) or a cable company. Such a pay-TV service provider may require a user to utilize a set-top box (STB), receiver, or integrated receiver decoder (IRD) that enables the descrambling or decryption of the transmission. The set-top box may be configured to allow the viewing of one or more particular channels, programs, etc. based on a customer's payment or subscription. Accordingly, when a customer subscribes to a service package, the pay-TV service provider enables the set-top box to allow the customer to view the transmissions in the selected package.
Additionally, customers may desire to view a particular channel or program. To accommodate such customers, transmission providers may provide impulse pay-per-view (IPPV) programs or channels wherein a customer may pay for a particular channel or program. A customer may select a particular pay-per-view program or channel using a remote control that communicates with the set-top box. Once the pay-per-view program has been selected, information regarding the selected pay-per view program is stored by the set top box (e.g., in memory or a smart card) until the set top box transmits (in a callback transaction) the purchase information to the pay-TV service provider. Once the callback is initiated, the purchase information is transmitted through a modem attached to the set top box by dialing a costly toll free phone number direct to the pay-TV service provider's facility. Thus, the use of a toll free phone number is costly to a pay-TV service provider and requires extensive on-site infrastructure.
Additionally, subscriber renewal notices are used by a set top box. In the prior art, such renewal notices are broadcast by satellite and received in the set top box on a monthly basis. Accordingly, valuable satellite bandwidth is occupied every month for the subscriber renewal notices.
What is needed is a method for efficiently and automatically delivering purchase information relating to a pay per view program or e-commerce transaction without having to call a costly toll free phone number.